Confessions of a Sugarholic

Hey readers!  Sorry for not posting last week.  Nothing was wrong.  I just didn't have anything profound to share, and I'm thinking that's not a bad thing.  I feel like my new lifestyle is taking hold and cementing into place, and sometimes I don't have much to report.  Or it could have been because I did my longest, long run as part of my 14 week training program for the Cleveland Half Marathon (TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY! YIKES!), and it completely tired me out.  10 miles.  I think it went well.  I felt like it would have been better if I had water available to drink though out.  I was quite dehydrated after finishing so I talked up on water to rehydrate. The half marathon has many water breaks so I feel I'll be okay.  Plus, when I finished I felt like I could still continue, and at that distance, I would only have 3 more miles left. I definitely feeling better about the Half. This past Saturday, I ran my first 5K and I finished in ...

Hi everyone.  I was busy entertaining a high level VIP in my life so I wasn't able to post last week (wink).  I'm sure you guys missed me (yeah, right), so I'll get right down to it. My Whole 30 is over.  Monday, March 18th was my official last day.  Funny that I also had my physical that day at the doctor.  I had a fasting blood test, and I tried to get the results before posting, but I wasn't able to swing by the office and pick them up.  I'll make sure to include them next week. I'll admit I'm a bit anxious to find out what those results say about my diet changes.  I did notice a significant drop in my blood pressure.  I'm starting to keep track of it so I can provide my doctor with historical data.  That's probably the only way I'll be able to convince him that I'm ready to be weaned off.  Sadly, once you are on maintenance medication, you just can't stop it cold turkey.  It can dangerous, and I want to get rid of all t...

Hey Readers!  It seems I've started a Healthy Life Revolution.  For those of you that don't follow me on Facebook, I've started a Facebook group for those of us looking for some inspiration/support in their healthy life style.  If you are interested, please leave a message on this blog entry, and I'll add you.  It's a great community of people who are really focused on making positive changes in their lives, and we all are very supportive and encouraging... No judgement allowed.  So, please join us.  We'd love to have you.  The more, the merrier. I'm just getting back from Niagara Falls, Canada, and I had a wonderful time.  I was even able to get in some really good workouts while I was away.  The hotel fitness center was amazing, and I had my best run to date.  4.4 miles in 60 minutes.  My friend and I also walked over three miles on Saturday and Sunday.  So, I walked/ran over 10 miles in a two day period.  Plus, add th...

Happy New Year's Eve Readers!  Do any of you have any plans for the evening?  I'm happy to say that I do.  I'll be spending the evening with my sister enjoying a lovely meal at Hyde Park Restaurant in downtown Cleveland.  After that... who knows.  But it's nice to know that I actually have plans and not spending my New Year's secretly wallowing in self-pity like I normally did.  I was good at hiding my true feelings. There is so much on my mind right now as we're leaving 2012 behind and stepping into 2013.  This year was completely unexpected.  I didn't start 2012 with the plan to lose weight. As you know all know, it unexpectedly crept up on me.  I was actually trying to come to terms with the fact that I'd always be fat and there was nothing I could do about it at the beginning of 2012.  I know I was only fooling myself because I truly would have never been happy as morbidly obese individual with only food to console me.  I...

Hey everyone!  I know I didn't post during Thanksgiving week.  It wasn't because I completely derailed and fell off the wagon.  I honestly didn't have anything to report.  My weight pretty much stayed the same.  I worked out really hard that week so I could enjoy my Thanksgiving with my family and friends.    I also spent a little too much time online enjoying the Black Friday sales.  I couldn't help it.  It's amazing that I actually have choices now.  Skinny jeans, leggings, platform heels... These are all things I thought I'd never be able to wear.  I tried on a outfit that I got from Macy's, and I asked my mom for her opinion.  She just looked at me with her mouth wide open.  So, I'm thinking it must look pretty bad.  She just shook her head and said, "I can't believe I'm looking at my daughter.  You look amazing."  Okay...I had to go compose myself after that.  That meant so much coming fr...

Good afternoon everyone.  I hope you are having a nice weekend so far.  Mine has been spectacular.  It's just been a fantastic week all the way around.  After the "Great Halloween Debacle," it felt good to get back on track.  This week was pretty much smooth sailing.  I attended all of my regular fitness classes.  I feel myself getting stronger each week.  I'm able to do a few full body push ups now.  My planking is just incredible.  I'm pleased with my progress this week, and of course, it paid off with a nice loss.  I am still on track to hit 220.2 by 12/31.  If I can keep pace with a two pound loss over the next six weeks, I'll reach it.  Now, more than ever, it's important to maintain focus...especially considering what's approaching this week.   Yep... it's Thanksgiving week, and to be honest, I'm not dreading it like I thought I would.  We're going the non-traditional route this year.  Wednesday w...

Happy Fall Everyone!  I have to admit I'm supercharged this morning, and there are several reasons why.  First, we are entering my favorite season of the year. I love Fall.  I love the colors.  My favorite holidays are in fall (Halloween and Thanksgiving).  I love the cool temperatures and the clothes.  I love all the fun activities.  Fall is just a time for getting comfy.  To celebrate fall, I've decided to have a spot of tea while writing the blog.  I'm all in the spirit today.  Got London on the mind hence the tea.  It's not Earl Grey or Twinnings, but it'll do. As for the other reason... I've hit a rather important milestone today.  It's been on my heals teasing me for well over a month, and we've been dancing around each other like we're partners in the Tango.  Well, I finally tackled it this week, and believe me, it was a pain-infested, brutal, no-holds bared battle to the finish, and I won!  That's right....

Hey Readers!  I hope everyone had a productive week.  Sometimes I find that short work weeks are more challenging than regular ones because your schedule is a bit out of wack.  Considering that I was at war with my body, I was a bit apprehensive about this week.  I just wanted to get myself back to "normal."  Get my schedule back on track.  I admit that I haven't felt like "myself" lately.  I don't know if it due to me adjusting to being in a relationship again.  Maybe I was totally too pumped up for my birthday, and we all know how that ended.  I just know that I was tired not "moving."  I felt I was stagnant, and that plateau was just weighing on me.  More so than Doubting Thomas and his sidekick ever could. Plateaus are tough.  And this one was even worse because I'm so close to the century club.  It seemed like I hit 90 pounds, and my body refused to budge.  Back and forth I went.  I was up. I was ...

Hey blog readers. Sorry for the late posting. This past weekend was crazy busy. I had two family dinners and caught up with my bestie. I was able to get an interval walk/run in on Saturday morning. I haven’t run outside in over a month. I figured that since I hadn’t run in a while, I’d have a poor time, but I still finished with my best time yet. Each time I get faster which is what I’m aiming for. I think I’m going to pick up intervals again during the week too. Give myself a chance to do it two times a week – once on a treadmill and once outside. Hopefully, the extra day will give me more opportunities to trim my time. Well, regarding my weigh in on Saturday… I’m trying to not let it bother me too much. I gained 0.6 pounds. Nothing like what happened a few weeks ago. I steadily tracked all week and exercised 6 out of 7 days. So based on that information, one of two things happened. 1. I’m gaining muscle. Muscle is denser and weighs more than fat. However, it takes up way l...

Hey everyone!  I'm back.  I survived.  I'm still breathing.  I'm not panicking.  I'm not hyperventilating.  The world did not spinning off it's axis.  An asteroid did not hit the earth.  So, I bet you're wondering why I'm spouting off all these doomsday prophecies.  Well, the inevitable occurred, and I find irony in it since it happened right after my six month anniversary.  I gained.  I gained weight.  I did not lose this past week.  And, I'm actually surprised at how I'm handling it. If this had happened earlier in my journey, I'm sure I would have handled it differently.  I probably would panicked.  Had a melt down beyond epic proportions.  I swear I'm not usually full of drama.  I despise it in fact since I like to live a drama-free life.  I do find that when drama does infiltrate my life, I invited it in.  This situation is no different. Now, I know that a weight gain of 2.5 po...

DETERMINED!! Good evening readers!  I hope everyone had a good week.  Mine was pretty good.  Work was pretty crazy so that kept me really busy, but I like it that way.  Keeps my hands busy, and busy hands are a hell of a lot better than idle ones. I also had time to reflect back on Phase One.  I feel that it moved pretty smooth, and I didn't have too many hick ups, and not one derailment (THANK GOODNESS!)  I am entering Phase Two with the same attitude.  My workouts have become part of my life.  As a matter of fact, I work up this past Thursday at 4 AM just to get my workout in.  I had a training class at work, and I knew I wouldn't be able to attend my Zumba class, and I couldn't workout after work due to plans.  So, instead of not working out, I woke up really early and had a fantastic Wii Zumba session. It may sound crazy, but I'm so happy that I did it.  I was alert all day and of course I had a great night ...

One down...Two to go! Good evening everyone!  As you can see by my entry title, I reached my first milestone.  At the end of my 20th week into my new lifestyle, I have lost 63.4 pounds.  That's an average of 3.17 pounds a week.  Considering I was only hoping to lose about 1.2/week, that's pretty substantial...and a full 32 weeks ahead of schedule! And believe me, I did have to prove that I reached my first goal.  My sister did witness the weigh in and happily handed over my prize.  It was such a pretty box that I didn't want to open it.  I just gazed at it this morning, happily smiling, as I ate my breakfast.  I didn't even take today off to celebrate.  I did a 4 mile interval walk/jog.  I'm getting my body used to running on asphalt.  It's quite a difference from the treadmill. I feel a great sense of accomplishment.  I'm glad the first hurdle has been jumped.  It wasn't easy.  There were many day...

I love hitting those high notes ;) Good Saturday Blog Readers!  I felt like a woman possessed this week.  I don't know what was going on with me, but I definitely feel like I got my groove back.  I had another fantastic treadmill session on Wednesday leading to my all time best 3.55 miles in one hour.  I am running short intervals at 4.0 mph and I'm walking at 3.4 mph.  When I think back to when I started...I walked at 2.7 or 2.8 and I ran at 3.3.  Now, I'm walking at where I used to run.  That's quite a change. I definitely had a productive week.  I'm heading into vacation mode at work - which means I'm working like a maniac just to make sure everything is in order before I leave.  The last thing I want to be thinking about is work while I'm on vacation.  Perhaps all of that intensity is flowing into my workouts.  I definitely look forward them because it lets me step away from my cubicle and blow of some steam. An...

Good day Blog Readers!  Sorry for the delay in posting.  My weekend was crazy busy and productive as well.  I had my bestie's baby shower on Sunday (**waves to bestie**), and I spent Saturday with friends.  We went to see the Hunger Games, and we had lunch at Chipotle.   If you are one of the poor souls who doesn't know what Chipotle  (the restaurant...not the pepper) is, you are missing quite the treat especially if you enjoy Mexican food.  I even made sure to split my burrito bowl into two servings so I had leftovers for dinner.  I wasn't able to do that before.  I love Chipotle so much that I would eat the entire burrito bowl and a side of chips in one sitting - which would pretty much make me queasy.  I'm just happy that I'm able to have these types of meals and include them in my lifestyle.  All in all, my week was all over the place, and it was my fault.  I did something that I told myself I wouldn't do...

This dude has endless energy! Happy Saint Patrick's Day Blog Readers!  I'm up and at 'em early today.  I got my workout in early today too.  No more of that loafing on Saturday for me.  Last Saturday I decided to take a break and not work out, and I felt out of sorts the entire day...even guilty at one point.  If that isn't a sign that I've made my workouts a priority in my day, then I don't know what else would be. I did another interval walk-run this week on Wednesday, and let me tell you that my legs are rebelling.  After my inaugural run on Monday,  I did my normal elliptical workout on Tuesday. That was the hardest workout I've had in a while.  My legs were exhausted.  I always thought that walking was the most boring form of exercise.  I don't like it.  I've said that before.  My rationale is that I walk everyday to go places and do things.  Why on earth would I do that as a form of exercise?  Now...

Another great week!  I lost 2.4 pounds, and I'm down 8 pounds so far.  That makes me happy because I'm ahead of schedule.  This is important to me because I know there will come I time where I won't lose for a while.  It's nice to a bit of a cushion. :) I also feel different.  My energy level is up.  I determined my prime work out time - in the middle of the day versus the end of the day.  I handle it so much better, and I don't feel like death on my way home.  I worked out every day in some shape or form.  I went to the gym all four days I was at work.  I did Zumba on the Wii (which is fantastic), and I also used my home elliptical.  Again, I'm mixing it up.  I didn't do Zumba at work, but I'm getting it at home so it's all good. Shake ya ass!  Watch yo'self!  Show me what you working with! If you haven't tried Zumba, I highly suggest you do.  I did it this morning.  It's very fun, highly ...

So, today is weigh-in day.  I'll admit I was a bit anxious.  I popped up at 6:30 am this morning which is pretty pathetic since it's Saturday, and I don't work on the weekends.  I knew this date was coming.  I was afraid of what I would see...or more like what I wouldn't see. That fear...that anxiety shouldn't be there, and I'm going to have to work on myself to make sure it disappears.  I did what I need to do this week.  I ate well, I started to exercise, I didn't use the elevator at all this week at work.  And, that's saying a lot.  I even climbed stairs a bit for exercise, which about killed me.  I shouldn't feel like I failed if the scale isn't reporting what I wanted to see.  I'll work on that. So, I got up.  I stepped on the scale, and guess what it said?  Well, if you look at the top of the page, you will see a new tab that says, "Weight Loss Chart."  So, go ahead and click on the tab.  Take a look at...